


A Matter of Priorities

by Maeve_of_Winter



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, High School, Humor, Kevin is a corrupt class president, M/M, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13139607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_of_Winter/pseuds/Maeve_of_Winter
Summary: Kevin battles it out with Principal Stanger over plans for a school carnival. Jughead does his best to be supportive.





	A Matter of Priorities

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alliterate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alliterate/gifts).



Jughead knew that he was an anomaly where teenagers were concerned. He didn’t care about fashion or possessions, and most of his allowance went to paying for burgers—or rather, paying his friends back the money he borrowed from them to buy burgers. He’d never wanted a cell phone and had only gained one so that his parents could contact him in case they needed to call and have him babysit for Jellybean at the last minute. 

And for a very long time, his interest in dating had been null and void. Even now, Jughead still sometimes couldn’t believe he was regularly dating someone. And since their interests were wildly different, most people still had trouble believing Kevin was his boyfriend. 

On the surface, Kevin appeared normal, deceptively so. Jughead supposed it was because in spite of living in other countries for the majority of his life, Kevin had sort of an All-American type of image due to his interest in his school and community. He was involved in numerous sports, chaired multiple committees, and led various clubs. Most of all, it seemed like Kevin truly cared about his activities.

But what most people didn’t know about Kevin was that his interest in school committees could sometimes get downright obsessive, and he approached his position of student president of the junior class at Riverdale High with the same grim determination as a soldier resolute on carrying out a suicide mission.

Never was this fixation more apparent then when Kevin began feuding with Principal Stanger. A recent addition to Riverdale High but still a notorious hardass, Stanger had already taken away the privilege for students to use phones during lunch, banned any type of food whatsoever from the classrooms, and, most unpopular of all, implemented school uniforms. But Kevin’s dispute with him was regarding, of all things, a potential school carnival.

“He terminated our plans for the carnival for our class,” Dilton, junior class secretary, told Kevin apologetically. “He did, however, give us permission for a spring formal. Kind of a junior prom.”

“That’s terrific!” Nancy exclaimed. “A junior prom will be so much fun!”

“No, it is  _ not _ terrific,” Kevin said emphatically, sending a glare at his vice president and getting only an extremely unimpressed look in response. “What about our carnival? I know I submitted the paperwork correctly—I triple-checked the budget and I had both my parents check it for me, too.”

“Must have the highlight of their day,” Shrill remarked to Jughead from where they were both sitting and waiting for their respective boyfriends to finish the meeting. “He called Dilton up in the middle of one of our dates to have him check it, too. All those forms stacked up to be about an inch thick—you’d need fewer papers to buy a shoulder-fire missile launcher.”

“Don’t tell Kevin,” Jughead warned her. “I get the feeling if Stanger doesn’t change his mind, Kevin’s going to be buying one of those next.”

“He said there was too much liability with bringing in outside food vendors and activities,” Dilton explained. “I’m really sorry, Kevin. But at least we get to have a dance instead.”

“And a dance would be easier to organize,” Midge, junior class treasurer, pointed out. “This way we don’t have to worry about the weather or plan any rain dates.”

“ _ No. _ ” Kevin stood up and slammed his palms on the table. “I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care what I have to sacrifice. I am getting our carnival.”

“All right, so you’re fighting Stanger’s decision. Good for you.” Jughead stood as well as. “Any chance we could take this fight to Pop’s? I could use a burger.”

Kevin shook his head. “Sorry, Jughead. I have to file an appeal to overturn Stanger’s rejection of my proposal. And then I have to file a second appeal in case he rejects my first one.”

“How long could that actually take?” Jughead protested. “I’m sure we could do both.”

Kevin shook his head. “Sorry, but I won’t have any times for dates until this situation is resolved. Right now, I need to devote all of my energy to fighting this injustice.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Nancy sighed. “What if some of us actually want a dance, Kevin? What then?”

“Then you’re welcome to counter-picket me when I go to picket Stanger’s house,” Kevin informed her, packing up his books and moving to the door. “Excuse me. I have placards to make.”

Shrill shook her head as Kevin exited the room. “And to think,” she said to Jughead, “that between the two of you, I used to think  _ you _ were the weird one.”

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Kevin’s appeals were also rejected. He was still seething about it at next week’s student government meeting and insisted on holding the gathering in the gym. Nancy, Dilton, and Midge sat on folding chairs as Kevin took off his shirt and then took out his aggression on a punching bag, which Jughead long-sufferingly held in place for him.

“Stanger will not will win,” Kevin said determinedly, driving his fists into the punching bag in a flurry of strikes. “I’ve made a oath. I promise to not back down on this one.”

Jughead groaned, both due to his arms aching from the effort of continually holding the punching bag as well as his boyfriend’s stubbornness. “Maybe you could let him win this one? I mean, the could be one of those things where you know when to fold ‘em.”

“Yeah, really,” Nancy agreed. “You could back down and we would all be fine with it.”

“I would actually like a dance,” Dilton added. “Since Shrill and I weren’t together back at Homecoming, we haven’t been to one together yet.”

“In that case, forget about what Stanger is giving us and concentrate on what he’s taking away,” Kevin told them. “We chose a school carnival. We made plans for it. And now he’s overriding our choices. He’s like a tyrant seizing control. But I’m going to stop him. I’ll take a vote of the student government and let him know the majority is against him.”

“The majority is with him,” Nancy said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Dilton, Midge, and I are against you. That makes us the majority.”

“Not so,” Kevin informed her coolly. “When I became student body president in addition to junior class president, I automatically took the majority vote. Like the title says, I speak for the entire student body, and my decisions overrule the government’s.”

“What?” Nancy’s jaw dropped in outrage. “I can’t believe I voted for you!”

“Oh, God.” Jughead buried his face into his hands. He’d voted for Kevin, too, in order to show his support for his boyfriend. But what had he wrought?

Dilton shook his head. “And to think you call Stanger a tyrant.” But there was a faint note of admiration in his voice.

“Speaking of Stanger, whatever happened to you going to protest at his house?” Midge asked interestedly. 

Kevin shook his head. “I couldn’t make it. Jug needed me to help baby-sit Jellybean.”

“What? Oh, yeah, I totally needed him,” Jughead lied. 

He had not, in fact, actually needed Kevin to help him baby-sit, but had been hoping to use the combination of Jellybean’s ability to make even the toughest individuals melt at the sight of her cuteness and a date with him in disguise (since Kevin had refused to go to Pop’s) as a method to distract Kevin from his latest vendetta. Needless to say, it hadn’t worked.

“But don’t worry,” Kevin said, stripping off his boxing gloves and hefting a sign that read  _ No Carnival = No Freedom _ . “I checked with his secretary, and he’s staying late today for some sort of conference. I’m going to go wait on his car and protest there.”

Coach Clayton, the latest one of the faculty to get stuck supervising Kevin's student government meetings, cleared his throat. “Don’t you want to, um, maybe put on a shirt before doing that, Kevin?” he asked awkwardly.

“I do not,” Kevin told him flatly. “I plan on laying on top of Stanger’s car and working on my tan while simultaneously protesting. Multi-tasking can be very worthwhile if you know how to use it correctly. Remember that, Harold.” 

With that pithy bit of advice, he gave a wave goodbye and left the gym.

“How does he know which car is Stanger’s?” Midge wondered.

“He’s the only one of our teacher to drive an Audi,” Dilton answered. “Also, Kevin had me look up his license plate registration earlier this week.”

Jughead tossed him a withering look. “Seriously? Kevin does enough to sabotage our dating life on his own. You don’t need to help with that.”

“He told me it was to help you, and I believed him,” Dilton said earnestly. “I didn’t know he was planning pausing your relationship so he could become the high school equivalent of a lobbyist.”

“As far I’m concerned, our relationship isn’t paused,” Jughead replied firmly. He wasn’t going to lose Kevin to Stanger, even if it was just protesting Stanger. “Kevin’s not the only one of us who can be stubborn.”

* * *

Kevin invited him over to his house to talk the next day. Jughead arrived promptly, not actually expecting an apology but hoping that Kevin would at least have decided to resume their dates. Maybe all would go back to normal, and they could spend a lazy afternoon playing video games. Well, Jughead played video games while Kevin worked on other projects, but still, it was quality time together.

But his hopes were dashed when Denise Keller, Kevin’s thirteen-year-old sister, answered the door and pointed him toward the kitchen. Usually she took her fashion inspiration from the lead singer of Evanescence, but today she was dressed in soccer gear, and no sooner did she invite Jughead into the foyer than did an SUV pull up front of the house that apparently was her carpool ride.

“Kevin’s on the warpath,” she warned Jughead just before she dashed outside and down the paved stone driveway. “Be careful—I think he’s actually seeking military strategy advice from Dad right now.”

“Great,” Jughead sighed, steeling himself to listen to yet another round of Kevin’s increasingly absurds but futile attempts to overthrow Stanger.

Entering the kitchen, he found Kevin tucked away at the breakfast nook with a laptop and a stack of comics. Colonel Keller and Mrs. Keller were there also, sitting on tall chairs at the marble counter, steaming mugs in their hands. Both seem relieved at the sight of Jughead, as if he were the pilot of a rescue helicopter come to help them escape off of a desert island..

“Jughead, it’s good to see you!” Colonel Keller, a tall, well-built man who looked just like a version of Kevin that was twenty years older, greeted him with enthusiasm. He then turned to to Kevin, who hadn’t even glanced up from his laptop. “Sweetheart, your boyfriend is here. Why don’t you go out someplace, take in the town?” There was a hint of pleading in his voice.

“Absolutely,” Mrs. Keller instantly agreed. She wore a cream-colored pantsuit with a black blouse, and her fiery red hair was tucked back in a partial French twist. “You two should spend a relaxing evening together. Tom, would you let them use your car?”

“Anything they want,” Colonel Keller replied, his sincerity as evident as his desperation.

Kevin looked at Jughead for the first time since he’d walked in. “Oh, good, you’re here.”

“I am,” Jughead confirmed. Ambling over to where Kevin sat, he picked up one of the Superman comic books off of the table and idly flipped through it. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you’ve been enjoying these old favorites instead of planning to egg Stanger’s house?”

“You know me, Jug. Never rest. Never surrender.” Kevin indicated the comic book Jughead was holding. “I was in need of advice. After all, I’m a lone individual up against a seemingly insurmountable opponent. So I looked to another who routinely battles others with much more power than he does to get some guidance.

“Superman?” Jughead guessed.

“Lex Luthor,” Kevin told him. “I aspire to be like Superman, but honestly? I don’t have an ounce of his patience or kindness. But neither does Lex, and he still became US president in the DCU! Therefore, when it comes to making decisions for Riverdale High School as both its junior class and student body president, I ask myself, ‘What would Lex Luthor do?’ ”

“God help us,” Colonel Keller muttered under his breath.

“I’ve been asking,” Mrs. Keller murmured back.

“And I realized that Lex Luthor uses publicity to his advantage,” Kevin continued. “Whenever Superman is having a problem, Lex is the first to criticize him, to go to the media and tell them that Superman is an unstable alien who will inevitably betray humankind. Thus, my next move is to publish editorials in every newspaper across the county, including  _ The Blue & Gold _ _,_ and expose Stanger for the tyrannical control freak that he is.”

Colonel Keller groaned. “Kevin, I’m proud of all that you do, but if I have to hear one more word about Principal Stanger, I’m going to start sleeping at the base and not come home until my promotion ceremony.”

“And while we’re on that subject, let me explain why I brought Jughead here,” Kevin interjected smoothly. “I have to devote all my time and energy to battling Stanger until he understands my perspective. Dad, I know you being promoted to brigadier general is a big deal, but I’m not going to be able to make the ceremony.” He looked apologetically at his mother. “Same thing with your executive luncheon, Mom.” 

“ _ Excuse me? _ ” Colonel Keller choked out, disbelief written across his features.

“But if Jughead agrees, I’ll be sending him as my stand-in,” Kevin went on, giving Jughead a smile. “He’s my boyfriend, so he’s almost like your son-in-law in a way, so I don’t see why he can’t substitute in for me for a couple of days.”

Jughead closed his eyes. He’d always considered himself a mellow person, but at that moment, he could never recall a time when his patience had been stretched thinner. “Kevin. Come on. Seriously.”

Kevin shrugged. “It’s just as well that you go to the dinner and the luncheon instead of me. I’ve already started my next phase of protesting: I’m on a hunger strike until Stanger lets us have the carnival.”

“No.  _ No. _ Absolutely not.” Colonel Keller’s face was stormy and his tone adamant, and when he reached into his wallet and withdrew a black American Express, he handed it to Jughead as if thrusting a saber. “Jughead, take Kevin out to dinner. And stay out for a few hours. But for the love of Christ, Kevin, have some fun instead doing nothing but think of Stanger.”

Never one to pass up free food, Jughead wasted no time in grabbing the credit card from his hand and then yanking Kevin up from his seat. “C’mon, Kev, I think our dating life has officially restarted. Ain’t romance grand?”

“It would be grander at a carnival,” Kevin returned dourly, and he and Jughead exited the kitchen to duo groans from his parents.

* * *

 

“What’s your damage about this dance, anyway?” Jughead asked as they slide into a booth at the Chocklit Shoppe. “I mean, you seemed to like Homecoming okay.”

“I don’t really enjoy dances,” Kevin admitted. “But I also know you don’t like them.”

Jughead shrugged. “Guilty as charged. I wouldn’t go to dances or half the other events and stuff for school that we end up going to if I wasn’t dating you.”

“Exactly.” Kevin sighed. “I know that you give up a lot of your own free time to hang out with me at my own events. Like the way you wait for me after student government. Or how you always help out with my community service projects. Or how you attend those ceremonies whenever I win a contest for one of the newspaper articles I write.” He shook his head and then looked at Jughead with admiration. “You do just as much as I do, and you do it for me, but no one gives you any credit.”

“I don’t expect it,” Jughead replied frankly. “Like you said, I wouldn’t be involved in any of this stuff if you weren’t there.”

“Still, I want you to be able to enjoy something about it, with all that you do,” Kevin told him. “That’s why I wanted the carnival in the first place—I knew it was finally something you would want to do with me, not just something you’d do just for the sake of being with me. And when Stanger took that away and replaced it with another dance I knew would just be yet another student government thing you’d have to endure, I felt like I had let you down.”

Jughead blinked. “Wait, wait, wait. All your protests to Stanger, every time you tried to fight his decision—you were doing that for me?”

Kevin smiled sheepishly at him. “I know it got a little out of hand, but . . . yeah. I wanted to make sure you’d have a good time for once. A dance, with getting dressed up and then fussed over for photos? I know you hate that. But a carnival, with rides, ice cream, funnel cake, and corn dogs? It’s your dream come true. It would be something we could do together that we would both really like.”

A wide grin stretched across Jughead’s face, and any exasperation he’d felt with Kevin transformed into affection. “You were willing to  _ hunger strike _ in order make sure I got to go to a school carnival instead of a dance? Kevin, I’m touched.”

“We’re still without a carnival, though,” Kevin reminded him, a touch of displeasure still in his voice.

Jughead rolled his eyes at him but grinned all the same. “Do you have a one-track mind or what? There’s a county fair every summer. We can go together. Let’s see if your dad will give us his credit card again.”

“Don’t count on it,” Kevin warned him playfully. “After he sees the bill from tonight, I’ll probably end up grounded.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll let you out for the junior prom. Because . . .” Jughead reached across the table and squeezed Kevin’s hand. “I will go with you, you know.”

“I know,” Kevin returned, smiling at him. “You’re reliable like that, Jug. And I don’t tell you often enough, but I really appreciate that.”

“And I appreciate you trying to take on Stanger just to make me happy,” Jughead replied fondly. “But just for future reference, Kev, I’d rather have you here, getting a burger with me, than you off locking horns with Stanger.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Affection shone in Kevin’s blue eyes as he looked at Jughead. “It’s no contest, Jug. Between you and everything else—student government, student council, everything—at the end, I’d rather be with you.”

Jughead raised an eyebrow at him teasingly. “Even if it meant giving up your dual presidencies, Lex?”

“Even then,” Kevin replied without hesitation. “I’d give up my political career in heartbeat if you asked.”  

“Well, I’m not going to do that, ever. I’ll never completely understand why you’re so into that stuff, but I’d never try to separate it from you,” Jughead said sincerely. “Even if you can get overly invested sometimes.”

“Most of the time, really,” Kevin admitted.

“And I’m totally fine with that. But I do have one request,” Jughead told him.

Kevin nodded. “Name it.”

“Let me come along the next time you go topless sunbathing on someone’s car,” Jughead said. “We can bring food and have a picnic. You know, make a date of it.”

Kevin chuckled. “I can certainly make that happen.”

“And I look forward to it.” Jughead grinned at him, glad to have his boyfriend back for the time being.


End file.
